Buxton, ME-based indie rock band Lolabelle can trace their origins back to the summer of 2024, when three neighbors– Caroline Homer (vocals, guitar), Kurt Fedora (bass) and Gene Gill (drums) — met in their backyard and bonded over a shared love of 1990s alt rock. This meeting of the minds, bought together an unlikely pairing of musicians: Fedora has recorded with J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr., Mark Lanegan, Gooblehoof and a lengthy list of others — and is a grizzled national touring circuit veteran; Gill, is a music educator and saxophonist with a background in both classical music an jazz; and Homer, a former opera singer and late-in-life guitar player.
That casual meetup quickly became a vehicle for Homer’s songwriting and the trio would regularly sneak into the dusty, unfinished basement of their apartment building to jam. When Robert Samantha‘s and God’s Furniture‘s Stephen Bennett (lead guitar) joined the band, the quartet quickly established a sound that’s bittersweet, deeply visceral and cathartic yet fun and full of driving energy while making the rounds of the Portland, ME area live music circuit, including Blue Portland Maine, The Apohadion Theater, The Portland Club, Hey Sailor! and the Starboard Lounge, Hi-Fdelity Brewing, Fogtown Brewing Company, DIY shows and more.
The band went to the studio to record their debut EP, which is slated to drop sometime this month. The EP will be supported with a planned Northeast tour, too. In the meantime, their debut single, “Limb” is a melodic bit of indie pop that channels 90s alt-rock like Veruca Salt, Dinosaur Jr, Letters to Cleo and the like, complete with the classic, alternating quiet verses and loud hooks and fuzzy, distortion pedaled power chord-driven choruses. It’s a fun, mosh pit friendly party starter of a tune that can light up a room.
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